IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/abh/wpaper/21-064.html

Addressing the Severity and Intensity of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Relevant is the ICT and Financial Development Pathway?

Author

Listed:
  • Isaac K. Oforia

    (University of Insubria, Varese, Italy)

  • Mark K. Armah

    (University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana)

  • Francis Taale

    (University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana)

  • Pamela E. Ofori

    (University of Insubria, Varese, Italy)

Abstract

The study examines the effectiveness of financial development, financial access, and ICT diffusion in reducing the severity and intensity of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using data from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, and the Global Consumption and Income Project (1980–2019), we provide evidence robust to several specifications from the dynamic system GMM and the panel corrected standard errors estimation techniques to show that, compared to financial access, ICT usage, and ICT access, ICT skills is remarkable in reducing both the severity and intensity of poverty. The results further unveil that, though ICT skills reduce the intensity and severity of poverty in SSA, the effect is more pronounced in the presence of enhanced financial development and financial access. Policy recommendations are provided in line with the region’s green growth agenda and the rise in technological hubs of the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Isaac K. Oforia & Mark K. Armah & Francis Taale & Pamela E. Ofori, 2021. "Addressing the Severity and Intensity of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: How Relevant is the ICT and Financial Development Pathway?," Research Africa Network Working Papers 21/064, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    • Handle: RePEc:abh:wpaper:21/064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://publications.resanet.org/RePEc/abh/abh-wpaper/ICT_FinDev-Access-Poverty-In-SSA-Final.pdf
    File Function: Revised version, 2021
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:abh:wpaper:21/064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Anutechia Asongu Simplice (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.resanet.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.